Manchester Recovery Task Force
RICHARD HARPER, Associate Director at Steer, outlines the company’s work supporting pan-industry collaboration to address performance in Manchester
On 14 January, the Department for Transport launched a consultation into future timetable options for Manchester. It was a key milestone for the Manchester Recovery Task Force (MRTF), one year on from its formation. When MRTF first met, we knew we were facing one of the biggest railway problems today, but had no idea of the journey we would go on during 2020.
There seems to be a Task Force for everything these days: organised crime; mental health; Covid-19. Task Force is a military concept and, for school-age boys in the early 1980s like me, it means only one thing: a flotilla of 127 ships steaming south to reclaim sovereign territory. The Falklands Task Force stood for pace, decisive action and swift success, so it’s easy to see why that’s desirable to emulate when faced with a difficult operational, social or political problem.
FORMING THE TASK FORCE
The collapse in performance when the May 2018 timetable was launched will live long in the memory. The actions triggered at the time and through the subsequent inquiry by Profes…
